Coronado State Monument
| Coronado State Monument | |||
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| Location: | New Mexico , United States | ||
| Next city: | Bernalillo (New Mexico) | ||
| Founding: | 1940 | ||
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The Coronado State Monument is located in the US state of New Mexico , about 30 km north of Albuquerque or directly on the northern outskirts of Bernalillo . The park was given special protection as a state monument in 1940.
The state monument was named after the Spanish conqueror Francisco Vásquez de Coronado . He was looking for gold in New Mexico. Coronado is believed to have made camp near Kuaua Pueblo in 1540.
The Coronado State Monument contains ruins of the former Kuaua Pueblo. In the period from the 14th to the 16th centuries, Indians from the Tiwa tribe settled in the Bernalillo area. Kuaua is the Tiwa word for "evergreen". The Kuaua Pueblo was the northernmost of 12 Tiwa settlements and is in close proximity to the Rio Grande . In the 16th century, the inhabitants were decimated by the Navajo tribe due to clashes with the Spanish colonialists and Plains Indians and the pueblo was abandoned.
In the 1930s, remains of the Kuaua Pueblos were unearthed by archaeologists Gordon Vivian and Margery Tichy. Currently only reconstructed foundation walls can be seen for the most part. Two small adobe buildings were built in the style of the 16th century and can be entered.
In 1935, archaeologists Vivian and Tichy discovered the remains of a kiva . What was special about this find were extensive murals on the inner walls of the exposed kiva. Unfortunately, while the wall paintings were being secured, the kiva was largely destroyed. On the foundations of the original kiva, a new kiva (Painted Kiva) was built in 1938. In this kiva, the Indian artist Velino Shije Herrera (1902–1973) attached faithful replicas to the inner wall.
In order to prevent damage to the kiva, the building may only be entered with a park ranger.